3 Questions for a Committed Woman: Catherine Rousseau

What motivated you to join the “Un Une” Parity Network?

I don’t want to just be concerned about the issue of gender parity—I want to take a more active role in it.

There are imbalances—we know it, we see it, and sometimes we experience it firsthand. Furthermore, there are now numerous studies that objectively demonstrate the link between gender diversity and performance. However, progress is still not happening fast enough. Any initiative that intelligently contributes to making gender parity a reality is welcome; and those that, like the “Un Une” Parity Network, bring a fresh perspective are even more so!

In your professional practice, how do you work to promote gender equality?

My career path has led me to work in environments that are heavily female-dominated or, conversely, in environments where men are overrepresented. In both cases, it’s not ideal. In HR roles—which I held for several years—I worked to “find men” so that my team would be as gender-balanced as possible. As a manager, I pay special attention to supporting women so they can overcome imposter syndrome or any lack of self-confidence, dare to take more risks, and allow themselves to step outside their comfort zones. I’ve been in the Strategy department for a few weeks now, and I want to do my job while always keeping gender parity in mind… and making sure everyone else does too. One of the first things I did when I took this position was to meet with Sonia Scharfman, who is also an ambassador for the Parity Network, to discuss what we can do to systematically incorporate gender parity into our thinking and action plans.

What message would you like to share with the women and men of the Un Une community, and more broadly, with the women and men at our company?

Gender parity is not a given. But the lack of gender parity is not inevitable.

What will drive us forward is making this a shared effort—involving everyone, women and men alike, younger and older generations alike, across all professions.

And then, another message: let’s take a look at what we’re already doing well (and here at La Poste, we’re doing a lot to promote inclusion) and draw inspiration from one another to give us the strength to go even further!